In today's world, pickup trucks are becoming ever more popular as people with a variety of interests find them both versatile and convenient for the many activities in which they may participate. The trucks have a cargo carrying capacity which is good for many purposes and the trucks may go virtually anywhere whether the roadway is paved or not. This convenience and versatility has made pickup trucks a popular component of modern living.
The cargo box of modern pickup trucks is often equipped with a tonneau cover or a topper which are secured to the cargo box. Modern tonneau covers and toppers enclose the cargo box so that rain and snow do not fall into the truck bed. Even when truck beds are covered, however, dust from paved and un-paved roads often finds its way into the cargo box through either gaps between the tailgate and the end of the bottom of the truck bed or between the tailgate and the respective side panels of the cargo box. These gaps are generally present in virtually all pickup trucks.
In order to close these gaps to reduce the flow of air which may carry dust or unwanted moisture into the cargo box, tailgate sealing gaskets have been created to fill gaps between the tailgate and the respective side walls and the tailgate and the end of the bottom of the truck bed. These sealing gaskets have taken many different forms, and are made of many different materials but over time they deform and become brittle so that they must be replaced. The most common gasket is a simple elongated tube-like gasket. This type of gasket is generally secured to the pickup truck on one side. When the tail gate is closed, however, it flattens out without support. Other sealing gaskets are configured in a way which only allows them to accommodate certain predictable gaps that may be envisioned by the maker, but not others. Because these gaskets are only configured to fill gaps in only a certain way, they do not generally meet all needs for all truck body types. Yet others are solid gaskets without any lumen to provide give. It will be appreciated that it would be advantageous to provide a sealing gasket which will adequately fill the gaps between the tailgate and the respect side panels and the surface of the truck bed, especially one which would fill such gaps for a wide variety of truck body types having different configurations.
Accordingly, it will be appreciated that there is a continuing need for new and improved tailgate sealing gaskets that will benefit owners of pickup trucks by providing a gasket which will provide a better seal for closing gaps between the tailgate and the truck body. The present invention provides advantages over the prior devices and the prior methods used to close such gaps, and also offers other advantages over the prior art and solves other problems associated therewith.